This invention relates to certain plant derived catechol complexes which are useful in a wide variety of applications and compositions. More particularly, the invention relates to certain plant derived catechol complexes which are effective in processes for the recovery of hydrocarbons from hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs, the recovery of precious metal from difficult to process ores and the chemical modification of contaminants in aqueous based material to reduce the contaminant level of said contaminant aqueous based material.
Further, this invention relates to a process for recovering hydrocarbons, such as petroleum and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to processes wherein hydrocarbons are recovered from subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formations, i.e., reservoirs.
Producing petroleum from subterranean reservoirs has become increasingly difficult. A large portion of the original crude petroleum in place in many subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs remains in place after primary production and water flooding. As oil reserves dwindle and exploration for new discoveries becomes more difficult and costly, the use of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques on previously discovered resources will play an increasingly important role in the overall production of crude petroleum.